sam kiley, appreciate it. thanks so much. >>> let's bring in ukrainian political analyst ta tara zaragrovicz. your read on this? when is an invasion an invasion? >> yes, good morning, michael, thanks for having me. the most important from yesterday is mr. putin is he is declaring new republics. in terms of putin's aggression it means two basic scenarios. the best is that mr. putin will be satisfied recognizing independence of so-called people's republics. meanwhile, as putin troops already moved. with ukrainian arms forces and second worst case scenario means vladimir put continue and russian forces will try to work on the borders of the republics and that they should be enlarged. effectively meaning that russian forces and separatist backed forces should attack the ukrainian army. anyway, vladimir putin recognized this. what do i mean by that, michael? i mean that his idea, his goal was to persuade ukraine to accept donetsk and luhansk as republics of ukraine. vladimir putin now recognized t this. >> i'm curi

let's go now to our sam kiley who is in kharkiv. sam, we saw firing from the russian side at fred pleitgen's location. what did you hear in kharkiv? >> i'm pretty sure we heard the incoming -- not into the city, i have to say. i was stood against the window of my hotel room and could feel the concussion against the glass. there was significant incoming timed closely to what fred was showing us live on cnn there with the outgoing salvos coming from the russian missiles and artillery into locations in or around kharkiv. they have been hitting not downtown kharkiv where i am but the periphery, a block of flats of apartments were struck, we know. we know military installations here have been struck. if what fred is seeing now, and i have been up the road 10 days ago, it's a direct road pretty much due north from here. it's only 25 miles to the border crossing. and even a tank moving across the landscape there would move very slowly. coming down the road would be able to move fast. they will be in anticipation that the ukrainian military

sam kiley at the russian border. you've been finding there, closer to the border, what we've been finding and hearing here that most folks going on with their lives, not with a visible sense of urgency, but on the military side there. are you seeing the ukrainian military make preparations? >> reporter: so that is no. not at all. we've been out to the border, we've driven either side of the main road between here and belgrade. around belgrade, we've got reporting inside russia that indicates that the tank army is massive pretty much in total force, and reports overnight the last 24 hours or so, helicopter gun ships have arrived. still on the borders, some five or eight miles away from where these troops are believed to be massing and we've seen these troops and satellite imagery, we've got social media that we located. a military area, and relaxed saying we've lived with russians, we're not that fussed by it and then look deeper into what is actually going on here, i think it's very important and it ties the kind of

scott mclean, sam kiley, fred pleitgen. appreciate it.nks to you all. >>> and joining me now from geneva is neil melvin, international director of security studies at the royal united institute. great to have you with us. there is an interesting aspect to all of this i wanted to talk to you about. that announcement, the russian troops would continue to stay at least for now in belarus. how big of a deal would it be if those russian troops stayed full stop effectively in definite forward operating on ukraine's northern border? >> it's on notice what's happened under the guise of this russian military into russia's security space. so now we're looking at 30,000 russian troops which are on the belarusian territory. from there they would be able to threaten not just ukraine, but also central europe and the baltic states, nato member states. they may see russian military infrastructure, airports and fixed facilities being established there in the future. >> which is pretty worrying. it's interesting, too. the belarusian leader alexander lukash

sam kiley in the donbas region of ukraine, where shelling has been reported. and frederick pleitgen in russia, where there has been a mass movement of troops and equipment toward the ukrainian border. i want to start with you, fred. you are in a trance it point. what have you been seeing where you are? >> reporter: you're right, john, we are right at the border with ukraine. within that donbas region. it is a gigantic area. you were mentioned in the intro whether or not russian forces have already crossed the border into the donbas region. now, when we were traveling here, today and yesterday, you did see a large concentration of russian forces. but some of the things that local people have been telling us, a lot of the people we have been speaking to, they say the amount of troops we're seeing on the ground is less than they had seen in the days leading up to this. and they believe some of those forces may have already been deployed into donbas. there is no evidence at this point that that is really the case. it certainly seems to be what folks here on the gr

let's start with cnn's sam kiley in ukraine. sam, you're right there on the border. russian troops not far away. give us a sense of what it's like there and how the locals are feeling. >> in short, pretty relaxed. there is this fervid language coming from the united states which is in no way matched by the atmosphere here on the ground or indeed on the border. yesterday i traveled up to the border right with absolutely no sign of ukrainian troops. that doesn't mean that they're not there, that they're not dug in. indeed, the border area is nominally closed to journalists walking around with cameras. of course they might reveal military secrets to the potential enemy. there was a handful of border guards. large numbers of trucks from ukraine waiting to explore various goods from ukraine or elsewhere within europe. a few vehicles coming in from belegrad just to the north. belgrade is an area with satellite imagery and social media posts have seen a significant increase in the number of helicopters deployed there alongside the first guard's tack army which is a vast org

we want to begin with sam kiley, who is in the donbas region, in ukraine, where, sam, you've been in the middle of the results of the shelling that has taken place over the last few days. why don't you tell us what you've seen? >> reporter: you're joining me, about 500 meters in that direction is the front line effectively. on the other side of that in the other part of the donetsk area, the russian-backed separatists, possibly now supported with formally recognized russian troops. but in the last 48 hours, this town has been the scene of intense shelling. it has been the scene of at least one killing, a roman killed 100 meters in that direction during a volley of fire that resulted here. the damage you can see to a family's home. this is a family and there, i don't know if you can hear it, but another shell landing in the distance. there has been a steady drumbeat, kind of relentless thunder all day of shelling. this one happened 48 hours ago. mercifully nobody was actually killed, which is frankly a miracle. a woman and her daughter were hiding in here, in the kitchen, outside kitc

sam kiley in kharkiv, thank you very much. >>> it's so striking to see in kyiv and there where sam isple going about therapy daily lives and businesses as if there isn't a threat of a major war. but in fact, there is. in a few minutes national security adviser jake sullivan is expected to brief lawmakers on the crisis between russia and ukraine. during the call sunday president biden told ukrainian president zelensky that the u.s. would respond, quote, swiftly and decisively if russia invades. let's get to cnn's jeremy diamond at the white house. what more do we know about what we can expect from today's briefings with lawmakers? >> reporter: these briefings come at a pivotal time. national security adviser jake sullivan has ramped up warnings about the heightened risk of a russian invasion into ukraine. it's clear that last week something changed, there was some kind of intelligence that came into the united states indicating a higher risk of invasion than had previously existed. so no doubt that jake sullivan, as he goes to the house first in the morning to brief leadership members

we begin our coverage with sam kiley in eastern ukraine.am, the tension already very high, seems to be intensifying. what's the latest? >> reporter: well, the mayor of the capital kyiv, which you said in the introduction there, kim, according to u.s. analysts could be the target effectively in an attempt to decapitate the government, if not literally, then politically. the mayor there has reassured his population with reissuing instructions that there are plans for evacuation. for the use of soviet era bunkers. for emergency use of electricity generating capability and even communications if they get cut. here, close to the russian border, just 30 miles away from russia, if there is an invasion on a broad front. and there are a significant number of russian troops, amassing on this northeastern edge of the ukrainian border with russia to the east, where you talked about the 30,000 troops being concentrated in belarus, then there are also keep concerns that there could be an attempt to slice off this very important industrial and intellectua

this is a comment he made earlier today. >> all right, sam kiley, we appreciate the insight.hank you so much. >> here with us now to break down these rising tensions abroad, nic robertson in moscow and a contributor to "time" magazine. we're at a moment where we're pouring over every single word. and i was struck what secretary of state antony blinken told foreign minister sergey lavrov and you read the readout from the russian minister of foreign affairs, they're saying nothing about diplomacy. they're still talking past one another. is that your sense inside the room as well? >> i think it is and has been for some time. one of the threads that i see emerging -- we've had a readout about emmanuel macron -- i think you see a little bit of crossover. one of the lines you were talking about that there's a diplomatic track open but to pursue that, russia must de-escalate and negotiate in good faith. and we have a similar version of that from the conversation with the french president which says, dialogue is not compatible with escalation. what i think this thread here -- there a

cnn's sam kiley visited a town there that shares its name with a vastly different and much larger american metropolis. sam explains many residents in ukraine's new york fear a russian invasion is imminent. >> reporter: in a small town called new york in eastern ukraine, and a short flight for a mortar bomb from rebel territory, lies slavianska street. after eight years of war so close to the front line, homes here are almost worthless. these houses haven't been smashed by war, they've been destroyed by the poverty conflict brings. torn down and sold as recycled bricks and tiles, locals tell us that these houses tell for about $70. this is the end of slavianska street. down there is the checkpoint. beyond that is rebel-held territory. in the last hour or so, we've heard at least eight explosions. lily is three. she's out amid the shelling with her mom, lending a hand. playing with the family pup through a gate riddled with shrapnel shells from before she was born. her parents tell her the latest barrage is thunder, but it is something to worry about. >> reporter: andre is a rescue worker. h

sam kiley is in ukraine, nic robertson in moscow, and jasmine white at the white house. sam, let me begin with you. reaction in the country about his comments? >> reporter: i think there's widespread support for the president to obtain a security conference where he can lay out the problems his country is facing. he did come under pressure from the united states not to, but it's worth remembering there's a sovereign country, but that's what this standoff effective lid, or at least publicly, is about. it's about ukraine's right to choose for nato membership, something that vladimir putin wants taken off the table permanently and in writing. to drive that home, the rebels backed by russia since they invaded in 2014, season parts of the east of the country, not far from some i am in kramatorsk, they were fighting here in 2014. they have been firing volley after volley of artillery into government territory in the previous 24 hours, over 70 incidents of artillery fire. we were down very close to the front line this morning, which by lunchtime this morning, the ukrainian gover

. >> cnn senior international correspondent sam kiley is with us from ukraine. this is a city of 1.5 million people. at least three quarters of them are native russian speakers, and it's only about 30 miles from the russian border. at the end of the last month, president zelensky here said he feared that karket could be at the het. central to the border of the heart handof ukraine. but these demonstrators, their dwindling now, but they came out today in a show of unity with the slogans week east and west. that's east and west ukraine united. of course, to the east of the country, some of the east of the country was illegally captured by russian-backed separatists and troops annexed crimea due south effectively of the capital city. so they're deeply concerned that they're trying to demonstrate to federal ukrainians that kharkiv is in no way a rollover to potential russian invasion. and there are people here from the far right and the gay community, normally people who are at loggerheads in this town. openly in a state of friction. here they're coming together, pa

but let's start with cnn's sam kiley in ukraine near the russian border. good to see you, sam.urs after speaking with president putin, mr. biden also talked with ukraine's leader, president zelensky. what more are you learning about that call and why zelensky asked mr. biden to visit his country when he knew that would not happen at this time? >> reporter: no, he knew it wouldn't happen, but he does like to have foreign visitors come down and see for themselves just how divided his country is in terms of the invasion that was conducted by russian-backed rebels east of the country, carving off the donbas and crimea. that is something he likes to remind people and why the ukrainians are fairly sanguine at the moment, rosemary, about the prospect of a russian invasion. i am 50 miles, just 50 miles from inside russia where more than a division reportedly, according to the russian military defense and other analysis of russian troops, including huge amounts of armour, are building up. among those weapons are surface to surface missiles, tanks, mobile howitzers and invasion. people a

our cnn correspondent sam kiley is live in one town that was hit by russian missiles just this morningthat's next. >>> plus, breaking news in our health leader. the cdc just changed its guidance for mask wearing indoors. that's ahead. feel stuck with student loan debt? ♪ move your student loan debt to sofi—you could save with low rates and no fees- and feel what it's like to get your money right. liz, you nerd, cough if you're in here! shh! i took mucinex dm for my phlegmy cough. what about rob's dry cough? works on that too, and lasts 12 hours. 12 hours?! who studies that long? mucinex dm relieves wet and dry coughs. >>> we're back with our breaking news coverage of war in ukraine. cnn has arrived to a town in eastern ukraine that was hit in eastern days by russian strikes. let's get straight to sam kyley in the town. tell us what you're seeing there. >> this is a town about 160 miles due south of kyiv. a town that would otherwise be unremarkable but it is the base for the third special forces regimen of the ukrainian army. it was attacked with missiles earlier today. it is jam-packed

we have two reports for you this morning starting with cnn's sam kiley live for us in ukraine. ky had some specific requests for president biden during their call. what more do you know? >> reporter: well, the swift and decisive action that the united states and, indeed, the united states allies and nato across europe have been talking about is sanctions. now, in the past president zelensky asked for preemptive sanctions to prevent an invasion, saying that sanctions against russia that followed an invasion would be too little too late. now president zelensky is also asking for more lethal aid, 180 tons of ammunition did arrive from the united states in the last 48 hours. the united kingdom and united states have been supplying infantry-level armour killing missiles such as javelin. but they don't have any serious air defenses. they're very short, other than some stingers that have come in from lithuania on the ability to protect themselves against air assault. all of this adding up to what they essentially indicated since 2014 since the russian-backed invasion there of crimea an

. >> to sam kiley first in kharkiv, very close to the russian border, sam, where i know you did hearxplosions and saw blasts lighting up the sky. give us a accepts of what you are seeing and hearing right now. >> reporter: well, just before we came on air, there were very large explosions and very, very loud indeed just to my north. we don't know whether it's incoming or outgoing. because one of the key issues is how is the ukrainian military performing? yes, they are being bombarded from the air, and coming under ballistic missile attacks, and yes, they are attack across the country. but they also have some of their own capability which they would have known they were going to get attacked in this way. it's a standard way that any country would conduct the prelude to a land invasion, take out key installations. there are a lot of them around this city, including the airport, military airport here which is also we know being attacked at the ministry of defense is claiming. we have no verification on this. four russian tanks have been knocked out on the ring road that surrounds kharki

sam kiley live for us live from kiev, ukraine. sam, i want to start with you.alk to us about the situation, what it's like in ukraine right now following this call for citizens to leave and the warning that russia could launch an invasion at any time. >> reporter: well, christi, the atmosphere is one of a high temp. plans are in place for mass evacuation. they would hope to evacuate close to half the city, roughly 4 million people in total. on top of that, they're reopening the soviet-era bomb shelters that were originally built for protection in the event of nuclear war with nato, now-to-for provection in the event of a war with russia. and there are communication systems in place back up, other systems. it's only 30 miles from the russian border where the russians have elite forces on the other side massing close to the border, potentially on the invasion route. that was a concern expressed by ukrainian president zelensky at the end of january. the atmosphere is one of tension. they're rushing out, rebuilding tanks, training the home guard and reservists. the

sam kiley is with us from ukraine. sam, i want to start with you. the state department now pulling nonessential staff out of the embassy and kiev. the u.s. says russia could launch an invasion at any time. how is ukraine reacting? >> reporter: they're issuing an almost customary statement saying whilst they recognize and respect their allies, they believe there's much more opportunity for diplomacy to succeed in terms of talks. there's going to be bilateral talks later on today as part of that ongoing diplomatic effort. but at the same time there isn't any great deal of sign here. after all to the russian border where very substantial russian forces have been building up not very far away, potentially threatening this, one of the most important industrial cities in the country, a city of 1.5 million people, 75% of them speaking russian tongue. i think most are eun niagara support with the ukrainian nation as such. in the capital, though, phil and christi, the mayor has been reassuring the population there are evacuation and power supply communicatio

sam kiley, thank you so much. joining us to discuss, bob menendez of new jersey, the chairman of the senate foreign relations committee. thank you for being here. they believe the current troop level is not enough for a full-scale invasion. do you agree? >> well, i respect the analysis of our intelligence and military and they believe it is sufficient for a full-scale invasion. we agree that there are about 150,000 troops, russian troops. at the end of the day, i think that can cause, surrounded by three sides of ukraine, i think that can cause an enormous consequence to ukraine if putin decides to invade. maybe they think the spirit of ukrainians would be a bigger match for russians in terms of a decision to invade. but that seems to be more than enough for them to have a full-scale invasion. >>> u.s. officials have been saying it could happen as soon as this week. it is now wednesday. do you think ukraine is possibly at less risk today than it was a week ago? >> no, i don't. i don't. you don't have cyberattacks

sam kiley is in kyiv this morning. is information of another possibly way, another possible pretext for russia to invade ukraine, sam, how is this being received? >> reporter: well, john, i'm not actually in kyiv, i am in kharkiv, 30 miles from the russian border. i'm standing by a memorial to the soldiers who have fallen in the conflict since 2014, including recruiting posters for right-wing militia group and the brigade that is now absorbed into the home guard effectively. the attitude to this latest false flag allegation here in ukraine is one that is pretty much a shrug of the shoulders. because they anticipate something frankly more effective and potentially more dramatic, even more bloody. they often point to events 20 years ago relating to check -- chechnya. of course that remains a profound controversy. but there is that sense here that that is the false flag operation that could be conducted. they pointed here, ukrainian intelligence said they had a similar sort of attack in moldova which could get blamed on uk

sam kiley, cnn, kharkiv. >> and thanks for joining us.so the party that once compared itself to a big tent now looks more like the big top. with members divided over what should be in the center ring and what belongs in the side show. john berman here in for anderson. today in a very stark statement, the senate's leading republican criticized his party's decision to censure congresswoman liz cheney and congressman adam kinzinger for serving on the january 6th select committee. he also made how h

nic robertson has more from moscow, but first sam kiley in eastern ukraine. >> reporter: this is a city5 million. at least three-quarters are native russian speakers. it's only 30 miles from the russian border. the end of the last month, president zelensky here said he sphered harkyiv could be high on the target list when it came to russian invasion, not only because it's russian-speaking, but it's close to the front line, it's close to the border, it's the center of the industrial heartland of ukraine. but these demonstrators behind me, they're dwindling now. they came out today in a show of unity with the slogans here being east and west. that's east and west ukraine, united. the east of the country or some of the east of the country was illegally captured by force by russian-backed separatists, and indeed russian troops annexed the crimea due south, effectively, of the capital city. so they are deeply concerned that they're trying to demonstrate to fellow ukrainians that harkyiv is in no way going to be a rollover to any potential russian invasion. there have been people here from th

sam kiley, thank you for being there for us. >>> joining us is democratic congressman brendan boyle of pennsylvania, currently leading the u.s. delegation at an emergency meeting of nato's parliamentary assembly in brussels. thank you so much for being with us from belgium this morning. can you tell us what you're hearing from your ukrainian counterparts? >> first, it's quite clear that mr. putin has done more to unite the nato allies than any other person that i know of. in the years i've been affiliated with the nato parliamentary assembly and nato, i've never seen such unity among our allies. ukrainians i speak to have a sort of fatalistic view. this is not new for them. they've blg dealing with this for eight years and in a larger sense for centuries, so i'm really impressed by just how calm the ukrainians i know are approaching the current situation. >> they're calm. what are they telling you? >> depending on who you speak to, you get a variety of opinions on whether or not mr. putin will invade. it's not just a binary as well. there are some who believe that putin will send in fo

. >> for more on the situation on the ground in ukraine, we're joined by cnn's sam kiley in the city of harkiv near the russian border. what's been the reaction to the flurry of diplomacy that doesn't seem to have borne fruit so far? >> reporter: not borne any fruit, as you were saying in your introduction there has been a flurry of international organizations. above all, foreign nations withdrawing or downsizing their size of their embassies in kyiv, moving their embassies from kyiv to laviv in the far west close to the polish border. in the case of the united states and britain also announcing that they're both going to be withdrawing the training teams that have been working alongside the ukrainian armed forces to try to bring them up to nato standards, also to teach them how to use the recently supplied javelin and shoulder-launched anti-armor weapons. there's 160 americans from the national guard being withdrawn, about 100 britons being withdrawn over this weekend. and that is to make sure that there are no nato boot footprints on the ground should the russians invade, because o

cnn's sam kiley is live for us in east ukraine for an important perspective there. what are you seeing there? >> reporter: well, kate, we traveled up to the border of russia in belgorod where some of the images you've been showing, an increase in the numbers of helicopters that have been delivered there and other heavy weapons, artillery, surface to surface, missiles and a huge tank army. we've seen similar build-up also in the crimea, nic talking about there. you're seeing this squeezing effect in this part of the ukraine to the north, just 50 miles from where i'm standing and much further to the south and at the same time, got the ukrainian authorities once again repeating they don't believe an attack on their territory is imminent. lampooning briefings coming out of the united states that the 16th of february might somehow be a d-day by turning that into a day of national unity, where there will be speeches and flag flying and expressions of solidarity and peace, rather than preparations for war. no sign of a preparation for war here, and then you had suddenly th

cnn's sam kiley, he's live on the other side of the country in the city of kharkiv not far from the russian border and sam, we've seen the rockets headed your way, artillery, we've also seen tanks driving towards where you are. tell us what you're seeing. >> reporter: well, just in the last few minutes, jim, there's been a distant sort of poppy harlow pop, pop, pop. the first ground engagement we've seen from the center of kharkiv but it is a city of a million and a half people, ring road around it with the ukrainian government forces today that they knocked out four tanks on that road. we don't have any independent confirmation of that but we've seen the missiles fired from bel belgorod. we've heard the concussive power landing here and on the heavy armor, the tanks and the 155 mobile. h howitzers up the border and all this, jim, coming at a time when similar levels of pressure are put on kyiv, the capital, with the capture of fighting over airfields there, threats to the capital, threats to the second largest city, combining to lead, volodymyr zelenskyy, this is how he put it today. >> tr

sam kiley, fred pleitgen, keep your heads down. literally. we just learned president biden will speak at 12:30 p.m. eastern time on russia's attack on ukraine. we will, of course, bring you those comments as they come. in the last hour, russian troops told cnn's matthew chance who was just outside the capital kyiv that they are now in control of antonov air base on the outskirts of the city as ukrainian troops were attempting a counteroffensive. take a listen, have a watch at the tense moments he witnessed there. >> we are here at the antonov airport, 50 miles or so. these troops you can see over here. over here, they are russian airborne forces. they have taken this airport. they've allowed us to come in and be with them as they defend the perimeter of this air base here where helicopter borne troops, these troops were landed in the early hours of this morning to take and to form an air bridge to allow for more troops to come in. these are russian forces. i've spoken to them already. you can tell they've got that orange and black, identified

first let's go to sam kiley who is live on the ground in kharkiv, ukraine. set the scene for us now. >> reporter: brianna and john, the attack on the military installations it seems so far the attacks have been limited to military installations started a couple of hours before dawn here in kharkiv. you recall just across the border which is only 25 miles away, a very substantial russian force has been building up around belgrade. they were able to hear outgoing artillery being fired presumably in this direction or in the direction south towards a military installation. clearly if you look at the pattern of attacks across the country, the aim of the putin administration at this stage in the conflict is to attack air defenses, air installations, there have been airports and air installations and communications attacked throughout the country here around kharkiv. the mayor of kharkiv has asked people to remain at home. some people have heeded those words. some shops are closed, some are open and the metro system is -- public transport is still running. the metr

cnn international correspondent sam kiley spoke to ukrainians living miles from the russian border as ukraine. russian troops and ships muster on land and at sea. and few places in ukraine feel more vulnerable than kharkiv. here there is only 30 miles to the russian border. the city of about 1.5 million people, at least 75% of them speak russian, demonstrations like this are important because this city could be one of the first to get attacked in the event of an invasion. volodymyr zelensky, the president, warned as much, that u.s. officials are saying that vladimir putin could order an attack at any time. >> every day i'm trying to be calm and i'm trying to go through my daily routine. but i am trying to have the thought, okay, where are my documents, where is food, where is my mom, do i have enough money? >> reporter: in a city identified as a potential russian target by the ukrainian president, there are attempts to carry on as normal. but for many, this is the new no normal. >> i don't want to flee. so i need to protect my city, my home, my family. >> reporter: ukraine has expande

. >> and joining me now is senior -- cnn senior international correspondent sam kiley, he is on the groundn ukraine. sam, you know, the whole situation for weeks now has been this disconnect between washington and kyiv on what is actually the trajectory here for conflict. what are you seeing on the ground? >> reporter: well, i think from the ukrainian perspective the trajectory to conflict is probably the same, but it's the messaging that really matters to them. so in your intro there, abby, you played that clip from president zelensky speaking yesterday during ukrainian military maneuvers mirror roaring some of the naval maneuvers that the russians were conducting in the black sea saying panicking plays into the hands of the enemy and here in kharkiv i'm about 30 miles from the russian border, on the other side of the russian border reportedly -- we have evidence of this from satly imagery -- a very massive force is building up of russian armor with arti artillery, huge numbers of infantry, all a potential threat to this city of 1.5 million people with a 75% russian-speaking majority, and

cnn sam kiley is in kiev, are ukrainian officials echoing this level of alarm? >> no, the ukrainian officials are, once again, out of step or at least verbally out of tune with what is coming out of the united states with the foreign minister here in the capitol speaking in kiev he said that there was no need for what he called this apocalyptic descriptions. as far as the united states intelligence briefings do seem among others, describing russia as being 70% ready to invade. in other words, have 70% of the troops they would need for a mass invasion of this country and i'm speaking to you just 30 miles from the russian border, second biggest city in the country, and even here, though, there is no sense at all that this is a country preparing for an invasion. there is a very different sense here. there is a sense of national patriotism for sure, a big demonstration on saturday here in konkiv demonstrating the national belief, even though the majority of people are actually first-language russian speakers, but all trying to rally around the ukrainian flag and sen

sam kiley is outfront in a town in central ukraine that came under attack today.. tell me what happened and where -- what you're seeing now. >> i'm in kropyvnytskyi. a town normally of about 250,000 people but it's now crammed with refugees, particularly from kyiv but from much further to the west of the -- east of the country. and that is because people have been packing up and moving in whole communities in the long drive we had coming over here. there were groups of people forming themselves into civilian convoys to try to stick together for the long trek, possibly out of the country, possibly just to safety further west. it's very difficult to figure out where is safe in ukraine at the moment. this city is deep into the interior but it's also the headquarters of the third special forces brigade, of the ukrainian army and almost inevitably, therefore, a target for the russian air force. now the issue will be whether or not it becomes a target for some kind of ground invasion. it's a long way to come from kyiv or from kharkiv, even further perhaps from movement

as sam kiley just pointed out. all of the armor that they have at the ready. is there anything in your mind that tells you that they will not? >> well, christie, they certainly have the capabilities to invade at any moment, literally. i mean, it could take place right now. but as we know, any type of a threat is a combination of capabilities and intentions, and that's inside -- the intentions are inside putin's head. as josh just laid out, those diplomatic elements of power and economic elements of power are out there. they're available for putin to advantage, but they aren't significant enough. so now you have this military element of power, and what is nato doing to try to deter putin's capabilities. well, frankly what they're doing is prudent, in that they are available to assist with what i would describe as a non combatant evacuation operation if that were to occur, hopefully different from how it looked in kabul this past summer. but if u.s. citizens and other nationals are in kyiv and kyiv was under attack and those folks had to be removed, i would tell

speak with the pentagon press secretary john kirby in just moments but let's begin our coverage with sam kiley in ukraine. sam, what's the latest? >> reporter: well, kate, i'm in kharkiv, 50 miles from the russian city of belgorod where the large tank army known as the first guard's tank army is amassing and we know that from the evidence from satellite imagery and other things, but that is the amassing of those sorts of movements which causes the united states to warn of an imminent potential attack, something that the ukrainian president is still anxious to bat away while maintaining his desire to join nato. this is what he said today. >> translator: regarding the future alliance, our aspirations and missions, you know them perfectly well. we have some desire in our country in addition to this, we have a war in the east. yes, we would like to join nato and it will protect our integrity. >> reporter: now, kate, there is no sign of any kind of preparations for war here. i was on the border, there's no signs there either. of course, the ukrainian armed forces won't be putting all of their defen

>> sam kiley, thank you very much. let's discuss all of this with congressman michael mccall. thank you for joining us. >> thanks, wolf. >> as we know, 3,000 u.s. troops will soon be shoring up key nato allies in eastern europe. how far does this go potentially from your perspective to deter putin? >> i think it's a step in the right direction. i do applaud the administration for this. deterrence is key, and i've been a critic of the administration for not showing enough deterrence, particularly the waiving of the nordstream ii sanctions, which i think emboldened putin. but mr. putin needs to know, there will be consequences. and the only way we can do that is with a showing of force and deterrence. in the congress, we're looking at a lethal aid package we can do very imminently to ukraine. but also, what sanctions can be triggered either before or after an invasion to show mr. putin that we're serious. but i do think the force of protection at both poland and romania is important. and i talked to members from these states, and they would like to see more nato troops there as

sam kiley is in kharkiv ukraine and russian expert jill dougherty is in moscow, kaitlan collins is at white house, and oren liebermann is at the pentagon for us right now. hello to one and all, sam, i'm going to start with you. new video tonight showing explosions in kyiv. let's take a look at it. >> the ukrainian president zelenskyy is saying 137 soldiers have been killed since the russian invasion began. sam, what's the latest? >> well, i think the most sinister development has to be the statement, the video statement, almost like a hostage video, wasn't it, when president zelenskyy said in an address to the nation released on the internet that he felt that he was the target, number one of potential saboteurs and infill traitors from russia that has that had already arrived from the ukrainian capital and his family were target number two. this as you'll recall, it was the united states who had been pressing him prior to this russian invasion to start thinking about relocating from kyiv because they obviously had an inkling that this would be part of the russian playbook, not least b

. >> sam kiley reporting live from ukraine. >>> the u.s. is preparing for possible ripple effects.american businesses to report any signs of russian hacking threats. the cnn cyber security reporter, first question, based on all the questions we've had. can the u.s. government even rely on businesses to tell the government when there is a cyber threat from russia, given the fact that they haven't always complied. >> that's right. the vast majority of critical infrastructure is privately owned. for that reason, the u.s. government is somewhat reliant on these companies to come forward with threat information. now, there is a legislation that had bipartisan support that was supposed to be in the national defense authorization bill. but that unexpectedly failed in december. so we're left with companies, again, voluntarily can come forward with information. now, the ecosystem for sharing that threat has improved in reason years and there are a number of industry-based, threat sharing centers that report back. so cnn has gotten a look behind the scenes to see what's going on in the last

cnn's sam kiley live in eastern ukraine for us. sam, what more are you learning? >> reporter: well, first, i think we need to understand how this could be used as a pretext for a russian invasion because this hit ukrainian held government territory, a preschool no less, causing concussive injuries to several individuals, none of them small children, we understand but cnn has confirmed this happened in ukrainian held territory fired from the russian-backed rebel territory. the reason is considered the potential provocation, of course, that the ukrainians fired back. now, had the ukrainians hit a target that had resulted in spectacular civilian death, for example, catastrophic epically though that would have been, it would have also been oipotentiay the sort of provocation the russians are seeking as an excuse to go to war. they're expected, as kylie is reporting there, kate, to start throwing allegations of genocide around, a term used last week or the last few days by vladimir putin with reference to the plight of russian-speaking people in the east of the country

i want to go to cnn's sam kiley live in car kev, ukraine. ctually close to the border with russia as we speak. sam, thank you for being here. what are you seeing out there right now? this is kind of a back and forth of will they, won't they. what are you learning? >> reporter: well, it's very stressful obviously for the people of ukraine. i'm just 50 miles from bielagrad, which is a russian city where the equivalent number of forces that have been assembled that are the same side as the british army on the russian side. in the last 2 1/2 days, they've received additional helicopter gunships. similar number of gunships, about 60-plus gunships and transport helicopters have also been now spotted by satellite imagery in crimea. so it looks like they are getting much closer to the point at which they might actually trigger a d-day, an invasion day, a day for some kind of military action on the russian side. that said, the ukrainians today, later on today -- it's about 3:00 in the morning now -- are going to be celebrating what they're calling uni

. >>> i'm sam kiley in kyiv, and this is cnn. >>> vladimir putin is now urging ukrainians to rise upheir own government telling the lie that this is a fight against neo-nazis. >> translator: do not let banderites and nazis use your wives and children as human shields. use the power in your hands and it is easier for us to take control of the nazis that have taken hold of kyiv. >> and he is not only jewish, but he is the grandson of holocaust survivors, and richard, i am curious what the russian soldiers are going to do when they get to ukraine and they don't see neo-nazis in the streets of ukraine. you know, putin has said that ukraine is not a sovereign nation, and that it should not exist at all, and i am sorry i spoke with a former high-ranking eastern official this week who said that it is hard to know whether we are dealing with hitler or stalin here when it comes to putin and maybe a little bit of both. what are your thoughts on this? >> look, we are dealing with someone who is seriously out of touch. he has now spent several years in an unsplendid isolation. there is no one ar

sam kiley joins us live. president putin made this seemingly very crude joke today, designed to insult the ukrainian president. why? >> reporter: well, i think part of it is playing to the gallery, or his own base there in russia, jake. he enjoys this macho soldiery sort of language. in the past he's referred to how russia got screwed by, his words, by nato and western europe in over alleged commitments that he said were made and broken when there were promises made in the late '90s that there wouldn't be expansion into eastern europe. that is hotly disputed by those countries that did join nato. this is all part of language, part of the machismo. some 30,000 russian troops joining the belarusian troops. showing increasing numbers of troops, not far from where i'm standing. i'm about 30 miles from the russian border with ukraine. so all of that part of the ongoing attention seeking, too. look at the regular parade of international figures. one has almost lost count of the numbers of heads of government and he

sam kiley is in ukraine, nic robertson in moscow, jasmine wright at the white house, and kylie atwoodt the state department for us this morning. sam, let me go to you first. we heard the ukrainian president there telling everyone to stay calm. is that the pervasive feeling inside ukraine? are citizens feeling calm? >> i have to say that most ukrainians have been showing a remarkable level of calm. they have been signing up in relatively small numbers to home guard and reserve units. the ukrainians claiming they can mobilize over a hundred though people in addition to their 200,000 plus in their regular army. a different army than the russian-backed separatists faced in 2014. president zelensky was speaking about the dangers of panic in the south of the country, a military exercise where impossible route in for the russians and where i'm standing is another route into the north. only 30 miles between here and the russian border where over the last week or so russians have been building up very substantial force of armor and surface missiles and lately reports of long-range artillery be

sam kiley is live in eastern ukraine for us this hour. the donetsk people's republic, so-called, and the luganz neighboring republic that the kremlin officially recognized last night in the house of representatives effectively in moscow also moved to recognize. the issue for local people now and for the wider world is whether or not that recognition for russia means that the land i'm standing on right now is included in that. do they still lay claim to this area or are they going to stay behind what's called the line of contact, behind the preexisting front line from when the country was first invaded back in 2014? you recall then, of course, they established these two s semi-states, the russians took kcrimea in the mother land and deep concern coming from nato which is confirmed from the secretary general there, kate, ian stotltenberg saying there hd been a further invasion of ukrainian territory by russian troops into the so-called donbas area and these two recognized by semi-independent states. that is very significant because of cours

cnn's sam kiley reports. >> reporter: kharkiv, ukraine, glory to ukraine, russian troops and ships musterre vulnerable than kharkiv. only 30 miles from the russian border, the city of 1.5 million people, 75% of them speak russian, the demonstrations like this are important because this city could be one of the first to get attacked in the event of an invasion. volodymyr zelensky, the president, warned as much, that u.s. officials are saying that vladimir putin could order an attack at any time. >> every day i'm trying to be calm. and i'm trying to go through my daily routine. but i'm trying to have the thought, okay, where are my documents? where is food? where is my mom? do i have enough money? >> reporter: in a city that is identified as a potential russian target by the ukrainian president, there are attempts to carry on as normal. but for many, this is the new normal. >> i don't want to flee. so i need to protect the city, my home, my family. >> reporter: ukraine has expanded its military. but it is a long way behind russia in military might. so it is taking the wrecked t-64 tanks fro

sam kiley and others have been here. kharkiv. and the arrows down here, the scope of this shows you the russians are quite serious. you hear from the pentagon and ukrainians about the resistance, you also hear the russians are accelerating their attack on the entire country. this is about the size of texas. amphibious infantry is the russian jargon for marines coming in here and ground troops from crimea toward the donbas. and then you move up here. there's fighting down here and then kyiv, the capital. obviously seizing the state of power would be critical. i want to bring us in closer to this. yesterday our matthew chance said he left kyiv and went up here to the northwest to antonov airport. he believed they were special operations forces. today the russian defense ministry went public and says it now controls this key airport. you see the proximity to kyiv and general clark, want to bring you in on that point. just to make the point, this is not your any run of the mill airport. this san airport with long air strips where you

. >> sam kiley, thanks. democratic congressman seth moulton served on the armed services committee. you were critical of the biden administration's strategy and approach. i'm wondering if you think president biden has corrected course when it comes to ukraine and russia. >> i do. i wrote a letter to the national security adviser back in december and they're following those recommendations. they may be a little bit late, but i think they're doing the right things. look, anderson, imagine if president trump were in power today. he wouldn't be doing any of this. he would be believing putin over our own intelligence agencies and broadcasting that to the world because that's what trump did. we're in an immeasurably better position, the white house, democrats in congress, and all our nato allies are aligned here for standing up for ukraine. >> there has been disagreement over the use of the word "imminent." ukraine's president zelenski had taken issue with the united states describing the invasion as imminent. thi

ukraine's new york are trapped by these wartime blues. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: sam kiley, cnn, new york, ukraine. >>> retired lieutenant general curtling joins us, former commanding general in europe and cnn military analyst. general hertling, things are moving fast now and feels like every 15 to 20 minutes we get a new element of this, but i want to pull back a little bit in the sense of, what are the stakes right now given how tense things have gotten from a broader perspective of things? >> well, first of all, phil, it's going to be very challenging within ukraine, as you just heard those residents of new york, ukraine talk about. they have been suffering through this on the eastern side of ukraine for the last eight years. what we may see soon is not just that small area of the donbas, but attacks into other areas both in the southeastern part and we're seeing ships cross underneath the cr cri mian and connecting the land bridge to russia and could see potential for a mountain assault to kyiv which would be, would have as a prelude either rocket artillery, ballistic m

. >> sam kiley in ukraine. nic robertson in russia.nk you. >>> the nfl commissioner just answered questions about claim th to lose games. what did he say? that's next. so, you're recalibrating and reconnecting to the environment. seeing yourself as an artist -legitimate and genuine- can be transformational. daddy! for the best audio entertainment and storytelling. audible. what happens when we welcome change? we can make emergency medicine possible at 40,000 feet. instead of burning our past for power, we can harness the energy of the tiny electron. we can create new ways to connect. rethinking how we communicate to be more inclusive than ever. with app, cloud and anywhere workspace solutions, vmware helps companies navigate change. faster. vmware. welcome change. i've got moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. now, there's skyrizi. ♪ things are getting clearer ♪ ♪ i feel free ♪ ♪ to bare my skin, yeah, that's all me ♪ ♪ nothing and me go hand in hand ♪ ♪ nothing on my skin, that's my new plan ♪ ♪ nothing is everything ♪ achieve clearer

. >> we're going to begin this morning here in ukraine, cnn's senior international correspondent sam kiley, he's in the donbas region, recently around there in homes damaged by shelling. we also have cnn senior international correspondent matthew chance in the capital kyiv. sam, i begin with you. you say the shelling in recent minutes has increased. tell us what you're seeing. >> reporter: yes, so we have spent most of the day about 500 meters from the line of contact. there has been audible shelling all day, and we were spending a great deal of time investigating what had happened here two days ago when one person was killed and a family narrowly missed being wiped out when a shell landed in their home and destroyed two floors of that home. but we have had to move out relatively rapidly because the shelling got increasingly close. we could hear the detonations and indeed feel the concussion from detonations that were landing, we're not exactly sure how far away, but they're fairly close, if you can feel the concussions. now we're actually bugging out, frankly, in a vehicle. but this -- we